Phil Bredesen on Principles & Values

Democratic TN Governor

1960s scholarship to Harvard; millionaire businessman at 43

Born in New Jersey, Bredesen's father left his mother for another woman. His mother worked as a bank teller while his grandmother took in sewing to support the family.

Getting into Harvard University on scholarship in the early 1960s, Bredesen earned
an undergraduate degree in physics. He later worked for several companies, married and then divorced.

He then met Andrea Conte, a nurse. The couple married, then moved to Nashville in 1975 when Conte was recruited to work for HCA, the
Nashville-based hospital company. After arriving, Bredesen focused on creating his own company, HealthAmerica Corp., an insurance company.

When the company sold in 1986, he became became a multimillionaire at age 43. The businessman says he got
his taste for politics while at Harvard, inspired by President John F. Kennedy, also a Harvard graduate. Bredesen ran as a Democrat in 1969 for a Massachusetts Senate seat against a Republican incumbent. He lost.